One of the associations made by the Band during this time was with the Southampton Anglo-German Society, who invited us to participate in their Oktoberfest. This has become one of the most enjoyable events of the year.
Each year several hundred merry-makers gather for a dinner and dance, with entertainment from the Albion and a band from Germany. The Albion plays during the dinner, for the early part of the evening, and then the German band entertains later in the evening when almost everyone (including the Albion) are on the dance floor!
Nick Dawson took-up the baton in 1993, just in time for a trip to Germany organised primarily by the Anglo-German Society, and accompanied by the Albion Band and a number of local dignitaries. While in Germany we gave a number of concerts, in town squares and at civic receptions. The sun shone every-day, the band played to appreciative audiences, and every-one relaxed and had fun between performances. It was wonderful to see the Band become more united as a result of the time spent together, and also to hear the general improvement in performance standard
The Band travelled by coach overnight from Southampton to their accomodation at the Monchoff in the Rems-Murr Kreis (RMK) region near Stuttgart. Southampton were twinned with the RMK at the time, and the coach had many dignatories from the city, and so the band had a bumpy ride sitting at the rear of the coach.
The band participated in the Pluderhausen Festtage, and made friends with the pluderhausen band, which became stronger links in future tours to Germany.
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